Dozens injured after floor collapses at party near Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. (WFLA) – Police say at least 30 people were hurt when a floor collapsed at a party near Clemson University overnight.

The incident happened during a homecoming party in the clubhouse of an apartment complex. A large section of the floor gave way as partygoers danced, and sent people crashing to the basement below.

“Everybody started dancing and people started jumping and we just…boom! All you seen was like black, really,” Franzie Pendergrass recalled. “All you seen is everyone falling and their hands were already up in the air. By the time we got to the bottom, everybody was piled up.”

Pendergrass suffered a leg injury that required stitches. His friend Leroy Pearson suffered a light concussion and hurt his back.

“For that five seconds or however long I was falling, I thought I was gone, really,” Pearson said. “And then, like I said, I woke up and I saw everybody and I was like, ‘dang.’ Then I looked up and I see people looking over, reaching down trying to reach for people and stuff like that. It was like some movie kind of stuff.”

Thirty people total were taken to nearby hospitals. They are all expected to be okay.

Police say students, parents and other guests were at the private party when the floor caved.

Property management of the clubhouse where the party was being held told CNN it was built in 2004.